The winter Olympics are back! This is your official guide to everything you might want to know about all that’s going on in Italy.
Location: Why this might be the most beautiful game yet
The 2026 Winter Olympics are officially known as Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, jointly hosted by Milan (Milano in Italian) and Cortina d’Ampezzo, but events are spread across northern Italy.
Milano is hosting the urban ice sports (think figure skating and hockey) and Cortina brings in the mountains for skiing, etc. The Italian Alps are known to be hot spot for winter sports and beautiful panoramas.
Olympic Fashion: The Best and The ‘What happened?!’
Best:
Team Mongolia once again wins the fashion Olympics. Designed by Moyal Cashmere, their uniforms look warm, elegant and rooted in heritage.
Team Haiti’s look stands out for national representation, with a unique and noticeable outfit.
Team USA sticks to timeless style with Ralph Lauren.
Kind of disappointing:
Team Canada’s fits created by Lululemon have been criticised by the media for being uncreative
Team Germany’s Adidas outfits reminded many people of flying squirrels or Severus Snape, Mr Graham summed it up: “That [the German opening ceremony fit] looks terrible!” But at least they had fun wearing their outfits, as we could see on social media
Opening Ceremony: Highlights
The Opening Ceremony stretched across four cities and began with a dance performance at San Siro in Milan. Headliners included Mariah Carey and the Italian president.
It’s not the Olympics without Snoop Dogg randomly appearing
This year he wasn’t just watching from the crowds – he is now an official NBC correspondent and the first ever Honorary Coach for Team USA. He also took a spontaneous skiing lesson with Olympic legend Picabo Street.
Tragic Moment: Lindsey Vonn’s Crash
At 41 Lindsey Vonn attempted one last Olympic downhill run, despite a rebuilt right knee and a severely injured left knee. Vonn crashed seconds after leaving the start. She tumbled violently and was transferred to a hospital in Treviso via airlift and later required surgery for her left knee. For many it seemed like watching the end of an era.
Medal Watch (After Day 10)
- Norway leads with 28 total medals — on track to lead for the third straight Winter Games.
- Italy has 23 medals — their most successful Winter Olympics ever.
- USA follows with 19 medals.
Curling drama
Most unexpected was that this Olympics drama came from one of the most chill sports – curling. During a Canada vs. Sweden match (which Canada won 8–6), Canadian curler Marc Kennedy angrily told Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson to “f*** off.”
Sweden accused Kennedy of illegally double-touching a stone past the hog line — something officials said they didn’t see. Kennedy denied the claims but admitted he could’ve handled the situation better. Online, people have mostly taken the side of Team Sweden, saying that Team Canada was obviously cheating.
The incident has sparked debate about:
- Video replay usage
- Rule clarity
- Potential penalties
For a sport known for being wholesome and polite, it shook the curling world
Ice skating
This years gold medal winner in female figure skating was Alysa Liu, competing for Team America.
People around social media say that this year brought more joy into the sport of ice skating, stating that they had never seen an Olympian have as much fun as Alysa Liu on the rink. Figure skating is known to be a tough, extremely competitive sport, so seeing someone with a more carefree spirit and a focus on expressing her art rather than winning gold.
During the figure skating exhibition gala (an event without competition), a highlight of this year’s olympics, she performed to Stateside by Zara Larsson and Pink Pantheress, the performance spreading on Tiktok.
